TGIF, everyone! First Line Fridays is a fun way to share from books on your TBR.

Today my first line is from a book I am currently reading:

The summer’s heat arrived in Fallen Mountains like a winged thing, swift and startling: the pansies drooped, the lettuce bolted, the trees shook off their buds. As Red walked back to the police station from the diner, crabapple blossoms, pink and white and wet, dropped from the trees that lined Main Street and stuck to his shoes.

What grabbed me first here is the beautiful writing. I can’t wait to read more and find out what this is all about! Also, a blurb from Allen Eskens, a favorite author of mine? Icing on the cake!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“An intense and engaging portrait of characters driven by—and bound by—the secrets of their pasts . . . an absorbing mystery as well as a gracefully layered story of death and loss in a small town.” —Allen Eskens, USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury and The Shadows We Hide

When Transom Shultz goes missing shortly after returning to his sleepy hometown of Fallen Mountains, Pennsylvania, his secrets are not the only ones that threaten to emerge. Red, the sheriff, is haunted by the possibility that a crime Transom was involved in seventeen years earlier—a crime Red secretly helped cover up—may somehow be linked to his disappearance. Possum, the victim of that crime, wants revenge. Laney will do anything to keep Transom quiet about the careless mistake they made that could jeopardize her budding relationship. And Chase, once a close friend, reels from Transom’s betrayal of buying his family’s farm under false pretenses and ruthlessly logging it and leasing the mineral rights to Marcellus shale frackers. As the search for Transom Shultz heats up and the inhabitants’ dark and tangled histories unfold, each one must decide whether to live under the brutal weight of the past or try to move beyond it.

Please share with me the first line(s) of the book you are currently reading! I would love to read it! Have you read Fallen Mountains, or do you plan to? Happy Friday reading! ~ Jenni THR

Jennifer this looks so good! I’m still awake about to go to sleep though, I really need to get back into my normal sleeping pattern before Monday! and I might start joining you on this first line Friday soon my schedule is loosening up!💚🎉

Thanks, Berit! I think I ended up being up just about as late as you (my time) – ugh. I need to get to a normal schedule too! I was just thinking of taking off from these and CWW for February because my calendar is so full. I’ve not done that before, but I’m pretty sure I will to cut back a little. ♥️

Look, I didn’t want to be a half blood. If you are reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is : Close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)
by Rick Riordan.

Sounds like you found another good book, Jennifer.
My first line…
“Armand Gamache slowed his car to a crawl, then stopped on the snow-covered secondary road.”
from the new Louise Penny book Kingdom of The Blind

My first lines come from a book I’m reading now, The Marriage Bargain by Stephanie Dees….

Cameron Quinn looked around the tiny town of Red Hill Springs. Big pots of pansies, twinkle lights in the trees lining the streets……apparently the basketball team at the local high school was doing well this year–the storefronts were full of team spirit. It had charm, he guessed, if you were a person who liked that down-home kind of stuff.

Thank you, Hayley! I thought the writing was stunning too! The cover for the final copy is very different from this ARC one, but I like the green and simplicity of this one, too. It catches my eye every time.

That is a beautifully written first paragraph! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the book.

Here’s mine:

From above, from a distance, the marks in the dust formed a tight circle. The circle was far from perfect, with a distorted edge that grew thick, then thin and broke completely in places. It also wasn’t empty.

It’s from The Lost Man by Jane Harper, and while the para might be a bit vague, just wait till you find out what made the circle!!! 😱

The writing is indeed beautiful! I just started Fresh Ink which is an anthology and one of the authors is Jason Reynolds who wrote of Long Way Down and omg I can see why people rave so much about that book. Jason can write! I wish it wasn’t an audiobook so I could copy and paste some lines here for you!

My aim is to create an extensive portfolio of my writing, from articles, reviews and creative writing etc. I will be covering many different subjects in different contexts from Music, Books, Journalism, Film & TV, Marketing and Creative Writing/Stories.

Pet minder extraordinaire by day. Bookworm by night. I've been an avid reader my whole life, which started in the world's of Harry Potter, Nancy Drew Mysteries, and The Babysitter's Club. I enjoy reading mostly YA Fantasy/Sci-fi, YA Contemporary, New Adult, and Historical Fiction, but am willing to try nearly anything if it sounds interesting! Come travel through worlds and join me on an adventure!